A primary concern for many small business owners is attracting customers. It’s especially worrisome in the early days when you’re not even sure whether your product will sell. Marketing and promoting your business and the products or services you offer is critical for attracting attention (and making sales). Thankfully, there are plenty of low-cost strategies for promoting your small business in Australia. Here are 8 strong tips that don’t involve paying for ads.
1. List your business on Google
Think about the last time you needed a service you had never needed before. Odds are you probably pulled out a phone or your computer and did a quick search for the nearest businesses that offer what you needed. Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t realize that businesses aren’t listed automatically and must be registered under a Google Business Profile.
Listing your business on Google will get you views from new customers (or repeat ones) who prompt Google for the services or products you provide. You can further customize your profile to include contact information and photos of your store, events, or products. You’ll also get insights into how customers engage with your profile so you can streamline their engagement process and get more people in the door.
2. Create a website
While a Google listing will undoubtedly get eyes on your business and help inform people about the existence of your business, creating a proper website can be useful for promoting sales and education at minimal cost, although it can take quite a bit of effort to set up. For modern businesses—even small businesses—websites are crucial for marketing efforts.
3. Maintain a blog
Blogs are valuable resources for businesses as a means for indirect marketing. You can publish articles that promote the value of your product, especially by explaining the problems it solves. Blogs are also an excellent medium for boosting the SEO ranking of your website, thereby increasing its relevance and popularity as a resource (and increasing incoming traffic).
4. Market or sell on social media
Scrolling through endless social media feeds has become an increasingly popular pastime. Between channels like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and even LinkedIn, social media apps now appeal to a tremendous audience from all kinds of age groups and backgrounds, with all kinds of hobbies and interests. To make the most of your effort, you should pick a channel that aligns most with your target demographic—meaning it’s the one that your target audience is most likely to use already.
5. Market through emails
Email marketing is extremely popular because it is extremely lucrative. More than any other form of marketing, email marketing is both extremely effective and cost-effective, though it can take some effort. If you’re not sure what email marketing involves, take a look at this free guide to email marketing by Hubspot. Marketing emails are usually extremely personal and customized according to a business’s needs, which makes them a great way for building close long-term relationships with individual customers.
6. List your business on the Yellow Pages
Did you know you can list your business on the Yellow Pages for free? Your first advert costs absolutely nothing, but you’ll have to pay to create additional listings or unlock advanced customization options. Besides direct advertisement to customers who peruse the Yellow Pages, search engines like Google also trawl through listings, which increases your reach even more.
7. Engage with the local community
A great way to make a lasting impression on your customers is to attend local events. Depending on what you sell, you might want to consider applying as a vendor at local concerts, festivals, fairs, sports competitions, or whatever else is around. Even university events are fair game. If you’ve got the capital, you could even become a sponsor and have your business promoted by the event itself. That’s sure to make people remember you.
8. Monitor the competition
Keeping an eye on what your closest competitors are up to is almost a necessity. It can provide lots of critical information that you can use to boost your own business. For example, you can find out what kind of marketing tactics have been successful for them, and which have failed. More than that, understanding your competition is crucial if you’re going to create an innovative niche that cements your business as an industry staple.
9. Collaborate with the competition
While this isn’t an everyday tactic, collaborations are often hugely beneficial for the brand reputation of both businesses—especially when the final service or product for sale provides great value to end users. They’re a great opportunity to exhibit the unique talent of your business and the innovativeness of your team.
That’s not to say you should enter collaborations blindly, of course. You should absolutely seek legal counsel before making any arrangements. Give serious thought to how you’ll protect proprietary information from your business and who will ultimately own the final product of the collaboration.
Conclusion
Any of these tips should help you make significant waves, but it’s important to apply them well. Make sure that your public engagement is always positive and keep a close eye on the performance of each tactic that you use. More than anything else, experience will teach you the preferences of your target customers. If you’re attentive, you’ll pick up on the aesthetics, hobbies, and pain points of your audience over time and this will help you sell more, faster. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for future opportunities to promote your business!
